Category: Words of Wisdom

I sometimes wonder why God does not just take away the emotion of anger from those who want to live holy lives. Being someone who has a certain temper, there were certainly times I wished I could just have the calmness and the serenity of saints who always seem to be gentle and patient to all. I’ve realized however, that anger still has its usefulness in this life. It is anger that tells us something is wrong. It is anger that signifies how atrocious evil really is. Without anger, we may just as easily tolerate monstrous deeds done before our eyes. Anger is not what’s wrong. It is holding on to anger when it is no longer needed. It is allowing anger to control us, using it as an excuse to do things we’d only regret later on.

Hopelessness is something we can never truly understand until we have experienced it ourselves. From a distance, it is very easy to judge the hopelessness of other people. Maybe it’s because we can see some things they fail to see. Maybe it’s because we believe we have faith to weather any storm.

We will only realize the true darkness of hopelessness once we encounter in ourselves. It’s like a thick shroud blocking everything from our view, suffocating us, taking away everything we hold dear. It’s like a potion that makes us forget all the good things we ever had, all the blessings we have ever received from heaven. When we arrive at that place, we can finally relate to how the Israelites felt while trapped before the Red Sea. All the miracles they have witnessed seem to have faded from their memory, replaced by a fear and a desperation that stems from not being able to see any way out.

Without God’s grace, how can we ever overcome despair? May this lesson give us humility of heart, acknowledging our own frailty, and making us avail of every God-given opportunity to cling to Him in faith. We may not be able to get out of the darkness by ourselves, but may we never turn down God’s saving power when He calls unto us and sends us hope.

“God does not require that we be successful only that we be faithful.”- Mother Teresa

It is not success that truly defines a person’s character; it is the way that a person handles defeat. It is so easy to be victorious. Everyone admires you. All your friends congratulate you. You feel you have accomplished something and that you have a legacy to leave behind.

But what about times of failure? What about days when you feel like you have labored much but you have achieved nothing? It is days like these that test a person’s strength. It is days like these that will reveal who you really are.

We may not understand why God has allowed such things to happen to people, especially the good ones. But we must continue trusting that He has a reason for allowing us to suffer defeat. Let us allow Him then to carry us through our darkest days. Even when everything seems to be bitter and broken. Even when we feel so angry at the injustice of it all. God has His reasons. God’s justice is higher than our own, and His mercy is deeper than we could ever understand.

“You don’t know what I am doing now, but you will understand later.” – John 13:7, WEBBE

We don’t know the time given us, nor the time given for those whom we love. Let us therefore make us of the time we have today to understand rather than to hate, to believe rather than to doubt, to appreciate what is good rather than to keep on finding what is bad. This is the day to dream, to dance, to sing and to laugh. This is the day to embrace all that is yours and to make your loved ones feel how valuable they are in your life. You don’t have to wait for Valentines Day. This is the day to LOVE.

“Everything in this world will pass away. In eternity only Love will remain.”
-Pope Benedict XVI